Expert discusses the effects of subliminal advertising

By Adam Chen

Dr. Wilson Bryan Key claimed in a lecture Wednesday that the
advertising industry is using subliminal messages to manipulate the public.

Key displayed several examples of common advertisements and pointed out
to the audience what he said were hidden messages. Consumers have to "look
in a different way," Key said, focusing on "just the opposite" of what
advertising agencies intend them to focus on.

The talk, in 26-100, was sponsored by the Lecture Series Committee.

Subliminal messages often concentrate on the taboos of society -- sex,
death, incest, homosexuality, and at times, pagan icons -- according to
Key. He claimed that, in one liquor advertisement, the images of a fish,
screaming faces, a rat, a volcano, a lizard, and several other death
symbols were embedded in ice cubes. Other examples Key showed included a
man with an erection in an RJ Reynolds' Camel advertisement, a battered
skull in a Bacardi drink, and the word cancer in a cigarette advertisement.

Key maintained that these messages do not appear by accident,
coincidence, or as the work of an individual artist. Rather, advertising
agencies spend three to five months and upwards of $50,000 to scrutinize
every detail in each advertisement, he claimed.

Key reported that there are some 500 published articles on the effects of
subliminal suggestion in the psychology literature. While inconclusive, the
research seems to indicate that subliminal messages "affect some people
under some circumstances, some of the time," he said.

When asked about death themes in the ads, Key responded that "if
consciously perceived, you would probably run to the nearest [Alcoholics
Anonymous]," but proprietary studies have shown the ads to "work more often
than they fail."

Key acknowledged that the advertising industry disagrees with his
conclusions. The Los Angeles Times reported that the industry's
response is that it is hard enough to get the lighting right for an
advertisement, much less to put words in the ice cubes.

The Times also pointed out that many psychologists treat Key's
research in subliminal suggestion as a gimmick which cannot be disproved.
Key dismissed this criticism, saying that the attitude of some
psychologists is that "people will see anything they want to see in just
about anything."

Key has authored four books since he became interested in the subject of
subliminal advertising in the early 1970s, while he was teaching psychology
and communications theory at the University of Western Ontario. After
working for several international advertising agencies as a research
associate, his concerns made him decide to begin exposing the industry, Key
said.

Currently, Key is involved in a lawsuit against CBS Records regarding a
suicide in Reno two years ago, which he alleged was the result of
subliminal messages in a Judas Priest record. No legal action of this type
has yet succeeded in court because of First Amendment freedom of press
considerations, Key said.

Key asserted that no laws presently forbid subliminal messages in
advertising. While some federal agencies, such as the Federal Trade
Commission, have regulations against deceptive representation, Key said
they have yet to address subliminal suggestion directly.

Key claimed that "any politician would lose his job" by going against
these multi-million dollar advertising agencies. The only solution,
according to Key, is education, learning to consciously pick out the hidden
messages.

Although the tone of Key's lecture was entertaining, he stressed the
importance of identifying subliminal messages in advertising today. Such
secretive tactics has over the past 40 years had a profound impact on the
American psyche, he claimed.